User:Theislikerice/chemistry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chemistry is the science of matter and the changes it undergoes. Five themes fundamental to chemistry are:
- Matter consists of atoms
- Chemical bonds between atoms give rise to the >50 million known substances
- Chemists use chemical reactions to synthesize new substances with novel properties
- Separation techniques allow chemists to purify substances from mixtures to study their properties
- The laws of thermodynamics govern in which direction reactions proceed and at which point they reach equilibrium
Whereas chemistry has only become an academic discipline in the 18th century, it has roots that reach into much earlier history. Disciplines within chemistry are traditionally grouped by the type of matter being studied (inorganic and organic chemistry) or the approach (physical and analytical chemistry). There are many connections to other natural sciences (to biology: biochemistry, molecular biology; to physics: quantum chemistry, spectroscopy) and to other fields of study (to math: theoretical chemistry; engineering: chemical engineering; computer science: computational chemistry; mineralogy: crystallography; earth sciences: geochemistry).